The Columbus Symphony: A Portrait in Stabilization

“New insights fail to get put into practice because they conflict with deeply held internal images of how the world works….images that limit us to familiar ways of thinking and acting." - Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization

In 2009, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra faced a $1.5 million deficit with no operating reserves, no line of credit, and a negative cash flow and balance sheet. Through a partnership with the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) forged in 2010, the CSO has built a $1 million balance sheet and has finished in the black each year since 2010.

Chapters in Video

Introduction (0:00 to 2:51)

Chapter One: Bitter Beginnings (2:51-11:51) What happens when an organization finds itself threatened and challenged to think strategically? Does the experience produce anxiety and lethargy or creativity and momentum? Hear how the Columbus Symphony navigated this all to familiar situation.

Chapter Two: The CAPA Connection (11:52-22:27) Outsourcing or partnership? Listen as representatives of the CSO and The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts outline their "hybrid" approach to sharing resources.

Chapter Three:New Designs for New Times (22:28-32:18) Can orchestras rethink their institutional designs to make themselves more nimble and responsive to the marketplace? Listen as the CSO and CAPA discuss the "sea change" affecting the field and how they are responding to it.